A 71-year-old teacher in Can Tho City is still going to classes almost every day for the past 40 years, giving free lessons to the local children.

Vo Thi Son in Chau Van Liem Ward said her sons and daughters had told her to stay home as she was only getting older. But she persists in going to classes every day because otherwise "the children will be sad."

After the Reunification Day, Son taught and a local school before teaching illiterate old people. Since that time, she has already offered free lessons to the poor children.

"I only take a day off on Sunday to go to the pagodas. Sometimes, I feel like something is missing when I return home. Then I remember that I don't get to hear the sound of the children studying that day," she said. "I only teach from 7am to 10am."

Son is teaching 40 children aged from five to six years old whose parents are workers in the area. They have problems with their studies. Son also teaches the children moral lessons and how to behave in society.

Vo Thi Hoa in Chau Van Liem Ward said, "Two of my grandchildren are five years old. Their parents work all day and we don't have money to send them to kindergarten. After three months with Son, they now both know how to spell simple words."

In summer, Son teaches second, third and fourth graders in the afternoon. When the new textbooks were issued, Son stayed up all night to re-read the lessons in order to give her best education to the pupils.

Vo Ngoc Tuan, head of the local residential area said, "Son has already retired but she opens free classes for the children every year. The local authorities try to help by providing notebooks to the children."

Son's former pupils also returned to buy new tables and chairs and other supplies to the classes when they grew up. - Dtinews.vn